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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25289374">life moves pretty fast</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicallycatastrophic/pseuds/cosmicallycatastrophic'>cosmicallycatastrophic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pitch Perfect (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, a singular reference to ratatouille, set somewhere between pitch perfect 1 and 2, talking about change &amp; the future</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:27:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25289374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicallycatastrophic/pseuds/cosmicallycatastrophic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jesse and Beca talk about change.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beca Mitchell/Jesse Swanson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>life moves pretty fast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i'm trying to get more comfortable with things that are short and unpolished.<br/>this is for one person only and they know EXACTLY who they are.<br/>title is from ferris bueller's day off.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Beca waits for the credits of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ferris Bueller’s Day Off</span>
  </em>
  <span> to start rolling before she gets up and takes the long-empty popcorn bowl through to the kitchen. She hums Twist and Shout while digging through the cupboard for Jesse’s new favourite herbal tea and scrunches her face up in disgust when she finds it. Seriously, who likes licorice? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I concede, that movie was actually good,” she calls through while waiting for the water to boil. “Plus, Jeanie was like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Beca expects a response to this objectively true statement but Jesse just makes a non-committal sound of acknowledgment. Huh. She thought prickly, stand-offish and fashionable was totally his type.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beca brings the two steaming mugs (Jesse’s disgusting abomination of a beverage in one, and her very reasonable and delicious hot chocolate in the other) back through to the living room and balances them on the coffee table. Before she can make a snarky comment about Jesse’s awful taste in drinks, she looks up and sees the intent look in his eyes. He clears his throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got accepted into USC,” he says slowly, his gaze roving over Beca’s face as if he doesn’t know what to expect. Beca takes a moment to process this. She knew Jesse applied to California’s screen scoring program, but deep down, she didn’t seriously, actually think it was something that was going to happen. But he got accepted, because of course he did, and now… it’s real. Jesse moving away, Jesse making new friends. Jesse flourishing and growing, without her. Jesse not needing her. Jesse forgetting her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god,” she says, more stalling than anything else. She’s happy, because Jesse wants this, and he deserves it, but under the happiness is something else. He’s brilliant and incredible and talented and he deserves to follow his dreams. But selfishly, she wants those dreams to be near her. “That’s amazing, Jess.” She’s not lying, it is amazing; it’s just a lot of other things too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it?” He asks softly, because he’s not stupid; he can read her like no one else ever has, which is usually a comfort, but now just makes Beca feel guilty. He shouldn’t have to worry about his girlfriend freaking out because something good happened to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course it is,” she says, and then remembers the promise she made to Jesse; that they would actually talk about feelings and emotions and any problems that may arise with the aforementioned feelings-slash-emotions. “It’s just- of course I want you to be happy, and you have to do this, you would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> stupid not to do this. But. I don’t want things to… change like that, and I know that’s like, so stupid and childish, but I just want you to stay here with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jesse smiles a little at that. “As much as I would like to, I can’t be your kept man, Bec. I mean, you can barely pay rent as it is.” It works- Beca laughs and manages to unclench her hands from where they’re clutching her mug so tightly they’ve gone a garish red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know.” Beca takes a deep breath. She’s gonna do it, okay? She’s going to open up and be vulnerable and explain some of her issues. She steels herself. “Okay, this might sound weird, but stick with me on this.” Jesse nods obediently. “My whole life, change has been bad. Like, really bad. Because my dad left and then my mom would date a new guy every weekend and all of them were total assholes. And I would have to live one week with my dad and his new wife who treated me like shit on her shoe and one week with my mom who was never there. And it sucked. I had no control over anything. So for my whole life, change equals bad. And I guess I’m scared this change will be bad too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beca realises Jesse grabbed her hand at some point during this monologue, and lifts it up to kiss his knuckles softly. When she looks up, Jesse’s eyes are so sincere and full of love that her chest loosens and she smiles at him ruefully. “Kinda lame, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not lame,” Jesse says. “I get it.” Beca can tell he’s holding back from saying more, and silently thanks him for not giving out the usual </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry your parents hated each other’s guts and you suffered for it </span>
  </em>
  <span>platitudes. “But it’s like in the film with the mouse who cooks-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god, he’s a rat. The word rat is literally in the title.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-when he says ‘change is nature’, y’know? All of life is about change, even the good stuff. If nothing ever changed we wouldn’t be here right now. If nothing changed you wouldn’t have met me, or met the Bellas and totally kicked ass at the ICCA’s. So it has to be good sometimes, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beca thinks this over. Annoyingly, it makes sense; Beca finds it equal parts hilarious and endearing that most of Jesse’s life advice comes from surprisingly poignant children’s movies. As per usual, he’s right. If nothing had changed in the last eighteen months, Beca would still be a miserable ball of self-loathing and spiky earrings, and she doesn’t like that thought very much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you get so smart?” She says, which she knows Jesse knows is code for </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and leans over to kiss him on the forehead. “USC aren’t gonna know what hit them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can visit me whenever, you know that, right? And my parents haven’t shut up about you since Passover, so they’re gonna expect to see you for every major holiday. Minor ones, too. You better clear your calendar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you kidding? It would be an honor to witness more Swanson karaoke. Are you sure you’re not adopted, by the way?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jesse grins. “You sure you’re not gonna forget about me while I’m off being an indie film bro?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I swear on Judd Nelson,” Beca says. “Just don’t come back with a moustache.”</span>
</p>
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